I Found This Website

Now that the furor of Christmas is behind us and 2015 stretches out long and clean before us, I've started thinking more seriously about the BLKG Design-A-Thon.  January is when you need to commit, fill out an entry form (or two or three, if you're feeling brave and extra-creative), pay the $5-per-entry fee, and knuckle down to designing, swatching, knitting the design, and writing down the pattern because each entry must be accompanied by a pattern.  Do NOT think that you'll remember what you did (don't ask me how I know this), scribble things down as you do them.  Your sanity is worth preserving.

It's a scary prospect, trust me I know, but seriously if you find a stitch you like you can design something.  Think about a scarf.  A scarf is nothing more than a rectangle of knitting you wrap around your neck.  It can be long or short, skinny or wide.  Say you find a stitch you like, what's to say you can't cast on a multiple of that stitch, maybe plus a couple on each side to keep it from rolling up (if you decide that rolling up ISN'T a design element), knit on it for a few feet (four or five seems about right), bind it off, and voila! you've designed a scarf.  Or a cowl, if you join the ends of a shorter scarf.  Or even a dishcloth, if you use cotton and make your stitch in a square.

See?  This is not a scary idea.  No one's saying you have to design a sweater or socks or gloves.  Some of us will, but the rest of us might want to learn just one new stitch or play with a single cable or brave a bit of lace, and trust me on this, that's designing.

I was poking around the web last week, I don't remember what I was looking for, when I found this website called The Weekly Stitch.  Each week or so they post a different stitch.  I've already printed off three or four that might work with my design idea(s).  Why don't you go there and poke around?  You might find something that inspires, interests, or terrifies you, whatever will convince you that yes, you really can design some knitted thing.   (I'm going to put the link in the list along the right side of the blog page, and leave it there, so you can come here and go there easily.)

Happy designing!


As soon as I get it I'll be posting the info on what we have to prep for the January program which is learning how to make thrummed mittens.  My cold hands can't wait. 

P.S. Don't freak out, the designs aren't due until April or May.